Truths of Misato
by scoman44
Summary: William Migdal is the best FBI agent, in charge of investigating activity involving Saint, Vesper, and Kaisma, also known as management. However, when his best friend Misato dies, he is left with custody of Suguru, a child with now both parents dead. William will find the truths of how Misato died, but it will bring to surface things far beyond what he ever thought. OC centric
1. Chapter 1

In this modern world, in the early 2000's, the world sees a lot of shit every single day. News outlets are filled day after day with stories; war, poverty, stocks, celebrities, and so on. With so many people on this planet, something is always happening to someone. And yet, almost nobody knows the half of it. Behind the scenes, beyond closed doors, rests three factions the general public has no clue even exists.

There is, of course, Kaisma, also known as management by those within; they've been around for god knows how long. Russia, China, North Korea; anywhere there's a hotspot or been one recently, you can bet your ass Kaisma had something to do with it. They control a lot of the world, and yet they still want more. Then there's Saint; the mysterious alien invaders. They attack on a small scale, and they always allow it to stay hidden, but nobody knows why. For that matter, nobody knows their objectives or goals in the first place. One thing is for sure, however; they are very dangerous. Finally, there is Vesper; the group initially funded by the NATO alliance soon after first contact with Saint to combat them. Vesper used to be closely managed by the NATO alliance, but since have split off. Many feel that their war with Saint is their own, and no longer that of the United States or its allies.

These three factions are often referred to as SKV in the United States government. They are all considered similar and just as dangerous as the next, so they are often considered one and the same. Usually, their war amongst themselves is supposed to be that: amongst themselves. However, sometimes there is collateral damage, sometimes shit happens on US soil that involves one or all of these groups. As a result, a select few in the FBI are aware of SKV. William Migdal is an FBI agent charged with investigating SKV activity on US soil. The heads of the FBI seem to agree that the greatest threat to the United States is SKV, and so there is growing involvement by the FBI. William Migdal is considered the top FBI agent, at 30 years old with no romantic ties and no kids, something that helps in a job as dangerous as SKV affairs. But everything changed for Will that one day when he heard his best friend was dead. And he could have never known the shit he would stir up looking for how he died. But the truth is the only thing worth hunting for, and Will would hunt it to the ends of the earth. The world is cold, but Will could be oh so much colder...

. . .

"I'm going to Japan," William Migdal said as he walking into the office of the head of the FBI. Jim Miller, the aforementioned head, sighed.

"Listen, I know you're shocked by Misato's death. He was your best friend, I know. But be reasonable here. Don't let one death give you a damn mid-life crisis."

"It's not up for debate. I am moving to Japan. My Japanese is a little rusty, sure, but I'll learn it back quick. Nobody is stopping me, not you or any one of your bureaucratic asses." This just made Jim sigh deeper.

"Will, listen to yourself! You are being ridiculous. Even if this wasn't a batshit insane plan, we need you here and you know it. You're the best agent we got, and SKV is more active than ever. We need you here; you can't leave just because your friend died."

"You don't get it!" Will yelled. "There's… More to it." Will lowered his voice. "I told that idiot I couldn't do it. I hate children, and I am about as romantic as a cockroach! But he wouldn't listen. He insisted if he died, his son would be in my custody," Will finished sadly.

"You can't be saying-"

"I am. Suguru's mother died a few years ago, and now his father's gone. I'm not gonna lie, I can't be a father for him. No way in hell. But..." Will paused. "I have to do what I can. It's only right, and now I'm supposed to take care of the kid. I can't stay here; I can't leave him like that. He hasn't any parents left; I can't just leave him alone." Jim paused for a few minutes.

"I guess I understand. Jesus, what the hell are you gonna do now?"

"SKV activity has been focused quite a lot in Japan recently, now hasn't it?" Will asked with a lopsided smile.

"Oh come on. You can't possibly think-"

"That it would be nice to have an agent investigate the source?" Will finished.

"We're the FBI. **The FBI!** We don't do foreign work, or military intelligence. **We investigate American soil!** Not Japanese!" Jim yelled.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. Common, you know it would be damn good to have me there."

"I can't believe you honestly-"

"I wouldn't interrupt you so much if you had intelligent things to say, you know. I'm leaving for Japan in the next week, so why don't you go ahead and mull it over for a while before you come back with you tail between your legs once you realize I'm right?" With this, William left the office, and Jim wondered if there was any way in hell he was worth the trouble. The problem was that he knew Will was, as much as he hated to admit it.


	2. Chapter 2

"Would you like something to drink, sir?" Will looked up from his international-business seat. The plane ride was just getting underway.

"A rum and coke, please." The attendant smiled and nodded. Will took out a folder, manila and very thick. Within it had info on Yuichi Misato, and his son, Suguru. Will looked back over the death report. 'An unexpected explosion caused swift death. He died while inspecting the factory in which the explosion took place.' Will frowned; something didn't seem right, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the glass put down. The agent looked up, smiled, and nodded. Looking back down, he flipped to the papers on Suguru. He was just a kid; mother died a couple of years ago. Now he was alone.

Will flipped to the papers on the kid's finances. Everything was left to him by his parents. But it looks like the organization Misato was working for was taking care of all the finances. Fishy. Will knew he'd have to look into this. Furthermore, he would have to make sure this would be invested well, considering Suguru would be living off of it for over ten years. Will had already set up a college and savings fund for Suguru, funded by being the FBI's best agent with no wife or kids to add to his expenses.

But something else caught Will's eye. Misato's life insurance. It was not surprising he would have good life insurance, with Suguru's mother being dead. But this seemed significantly higher than what Will would have expected, especially for an inspector. The little part of his mind that tells him when something is off starting ringing.

'But,' he thought as he sipped his rum and coke, 'that was something to figure out later.' Thus, he opened up his book on Japanese and started to review it.

. . .

Will walked into the police station by the airport. He just hopped his Japanese was half-way decent.

"Hello!" The officer at the desk greeted him in Japanese.

"Hello. I am agent William Migdal of the FBI. I am here for my equipment," Will said in his best Japanese.

"Ah, yes, I have been expecting you, agent Migdal. Please come with me." The woman led him to a back room full of briefcases. The woman then left Will to the room. He opened each briefcase and checked everything that was there. The first briefcase held the communication system, the new UFS system. This consisted of a new high-tech earpiece, which was small and discreet enough to be unseeable without looking for it, thus allowing him to wear it wherever he went. This connected wirelessly to a smartphone, which in turn connected to a powerful satellite antenna in a curved enclosure to go on the waist.

In the other briefcase he had mostly weapons. A modified and internally silenced Five-seveN, complimenting his P90 in another case, to use as a main side-arm to be worn on his waist. The Five-seveN had a magazine inside of it with anti-personnel 5.7x28mm rounds designed for less piercing and more stopping power, and he carried another magazine on him with the same rounds. He also carried an extra magazine loaded with powerful, high-piercing bullets commonly referred to as "SKV rounds." He also had a powerful anti-armor .50 action express pistol to be worn on his left front on missions, though it was too bulky to normally carry every day. This was designed to take down any "odd" SKV threats the Five-seveN didn't have the stopping power for.

Beyond the two pistols, he had an assortment of weapons he may need. They were all customized special-forces weapons: an M4 with holographic sight and fore grip packed with high-grain full-metal-jacket rounds. There was also a Remington 870 with special shells with less, but bigger and tougher pellets. Finally, there was a 7mm high-powered rifle for any very long-range shots.

However, one large case was still unopened. Upon opening it, Will found something very welcome: an RPG-A10. The RPG-A10 was designed to be an infantry-deployable weapon against any SKV armored vehicles. Significantly larger than an RPG-7, it was a beast Will was glad to have. He never planned to use it, but when dealing with SKV, you have to expect the unexpected.

He put on the UFS communication system, as well as the Five-seveN and its two magazines. He wore an under-shirt harness to support it all. He then put everything else in the rented car and was off to the small home he had purchased on the same street as Suguru.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a dreary, cloudy day, as if even the sun was mourning. Will was wearing his best suit, at the funeral of his best friend. Then he saw it; Suguru Misato, merely a boy, at his own father's funeral. It was made all the more bitter by the fact that this wasn't the first time attending one of his parent's funeral. William Migdal, for the first time in a long time, had no goddamn clue what to do. Young Suguru was crying in the damn turmoil of loneliness, but Will knew he couldn't even begin to take the place of his best friend. The FBI always came first, and he couldn't change that. That was just who he was.

Will sighed deeply. He was never good with children at all. Will was content with no wife or kids – he never liked kids nor trying to figure out women. This wasn't going to be easy, and he didn't know what to say, but he had to try. But, as will started towards Suguru, he saw somebody looking at the boy in… horror? No… guilt? Will later would know he should have confronted her. In retrospect, he could have unraveled everything right there. In hindsight, he screwed up. But hindsight is always 20-20. So he paid no attention to the girl, looking maybe 17 or 18, and continued walking.

Will kneeled down to Suguru, who was at most 4'10'' whereas Will was 6'3''. Will still was not completely sure what to say but had to say something.

"Hi, Suguru," he said gently. "I'm Will. I was…" he hesitated, unsure if he should mention Suguru's father. "A friend of your father." It felt awkward talking like this in Japanese, but luckily he had talked to Misato so much, where they talked half in English and half in Japanese, he was rather good at it albeit still rusty. But he worried it would sound wrong, though Suguru didn't seem to notice.

"Why… Why did he have to go?" Suguru asked quietly though the tears. Will had a feeling this was going to be very hard.

"Sometimes bad things happen. He didn't want to leave. But he would have wanted you to feel pain for it even less," Will said softly.

"But why does everybody I love die and leave me alone?" Suguru looked up and stared into Will's eyes, as if begging for an answer, some explanation of why he deserved this.

"Hey, you aren't alone. You still have friends and many people who care about you. Just remember you are never alone, and your parents just wanted you to be happy. Can you try to be happy for them, once the shock wears off?" Suguru, with tears still rolling down his face, nodded lightly.

"William Migdal?" A large man in a suit asked Will.

"Yes, that is me." Will replied as he stood up and turned around. The man handed Will a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it, finding a message in English.

_Dear Will,_

_If you are reading this, I am now dead. I have also left young Suguru alone, which is what I wish to speak about. Will, you are my best friend. I am asking you, as my last request, to support Suguru. Transfer all finances under your name and manage them well. I know I can't ask you to be there all the time and be a father for him. But please do what you can for him. Thank you, and goodbye my dear friend._

_-Yuichi Misato_

Will had to hold back tears. But then he felt determination to help his diseased friend however he could. Will then noticed the closed casket resting. Walking up to it, he knew it was empty, Misato having burned in the fire. But a chill ran through him, an odd feeling that something was off. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew better than to question his instincts. Thus, he stepped aside and called up Brian Michaels, his friend and field tech and information support.

"Brian, I need you to examine the records of Misato's death more thoroughly. See if there's anything off with the facts." Will talked quietly, even though he doubted anyone could hear him or understand considering he talking in English to Brian. He also put the phone up to his ear, despite the audio coming though the earpiece, so he didn't look like a crazy person talking to himself.

"What? Why?" Brain seemed very confused as to what this could be about.

"Please, something is off about this, I trust my instincts. And you do too." Brian sighed heavily.

"Alright, I'll look through it."

"Thanks. On standby." He then hung up and moved to Suguru's grandfather.

"Hello! Do I know you?" The rather large and almost imposing man asked. Will smirked.

"Don't remember me from Misato's wedding? I must say I'm rather offended. I was the best man, you know. However, I need to make sure all Misato's finances are transferred to my name and I am given control of them."

"Ah, of course! Good to see you again, Will!" The man gave will a very firm handshake.

"Listen, I need to make sure all of Misato's finances are transferred under my name so I can control them." Will handed him the letter.

"Ah, I see. I guess you're quite the man, the famous William I've heard so much about!"

"And you, the old disappearing in-law I've heard so little about?" The grandfather laughed heartily.

"Yes, good to see you! If my son trusted you, then I suppose I do too." Will chucked, but then became very serious after a minute.

"You aren't going to take care of Suguru, are you?" Will already knew the answer.

"I.. I-"

"Am a very busy man? I guess that's why custody of Suguru when to me when Misato died." The older man looked rather surprised.

"It did?" he questioned. Will nodded.

"Misato told me that if he was to die before Suguru grew up, legal custody would go to me. I told him that was insane. He told me even if I couldn't go to Japan or be there much for Suguru, he wasn't letting Suguru go to an orphanage. I will pay off the house mortgage and will pay property taxes, and once you leave I guess Suguru will live in that house alone if that's what he wants." The older man's face darkened.

"So you're going back to America after this?" Will shook his head.

"No, I'll stay here. It's the least I can do. But I'm not gonna bullshit you; I have bigger responsibilities and I'm not fit to raise a kid anyway. I'll do what I can to support him though."

"Thank you. I wish I could be there for Suguru, but I can't. I'll be here for a couple of weeks, but…" Will nodded slightly.

"I bought a small house on the same street as Suguru. I will protect him, though I'll need to install a system to alert me of intruders, considering an alone kid in a nice big house is a great target."

"Shouldn't you rig it to alert the police?" he asked, confused. "What good can you do?" the man asked, chuckling at what seems to be a terrible idea.

"Listen, I don't know about here, but back in the states the average police response time is about ten minutes. I can sprint it in less than one, and I was in the FBI for a very long time. Trust me, I've had extensive training, and I can deal with whatever low-life robbing shit-stains try to get in."

"I see," he replied simply. His face then turned melancholy. "Thank you for protecting him." The rest of the funeral went by smoothly. There was the ceremony, and multiple people spoke about Misato, even Will gave a few words. As Will was leaving, Suguru's grandfather ran up to him, and invited him to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Immediately after accepting, Will heard talking over the earpiece.

"The factory never existed. Clearly a cover-up, I doubt Misato died in a freak accident. Furthermore, the date lines up with an SKV incident recently reported. We don't know what happened, but it was close to the alleged factory. You want my best guess? SKV was involved in his death, and somebody's covering it up now."

The FBI agent had heard many things before, but this took the cake. He couldn't believe his ears. Many people had claimed to have worked with Misato. He would have a nice, long talk with the head of them. But moreover, William Migdal swore he would find the truth. But at the time, god only knew how much shit he'd uncover getting there.


	4. Chapter 4

William sat on a couch in the Misato home, a large home he now technically owned. They had made a little small talk, with Suguru talking only occasionally when needed. Will knew he needed to finally discuss the matter of those at the funeral who supposedly worked with him.

"I need to get in contact with some of the people at the funeral who worked with Misato. Legal papers and such." Suguru's grandfather seemed surprised.

"O-of course. I'll give you Hayato's phone number; he was the highest level overseeing Misato."

"Thank you. Now I really must get going, but you have my phone number and know where I live. Suguru, if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you." Suguru simply nodded to show he understood. Will left the home, and as he entered his living home after the minute walk he dialed up Hayato.

"Hello?" the other end answered.

"Hi, my name is William Migdal. All of Misato's finances were transferred to me. I understand you worked with him and wanted to know if I could meet up with you, some questions for paperwork."

"Yeah, sure. I can go over there tomorrow." Will then proceeded to give Hayato his address. Upon hanging up the phone, Will went to practice with his airguns, special-made replicas of his pistols for training in the make-shift training range he set up in one of the rooms. Will then went to sleep, wondering what the hell he'd get out of this Hayato guy.

. . .

"Thank you for coming." Will said to the man in the doorway. The man was Hayato, wearing a nice suit. Will directed Hayato to the living room and they both sat down. "First of all, what did they make in the factory?" Will asked, getting straight down to business.

"Consumer electronics, cell phones and such," Hayato answered without missing a beat.

"Oh? How many explosives are there in a cell phone factory?" Hayato merely shrugged.

"Just about anything can explode in the right circumstances." Will raised an eyebrow.

"And how likely are those right circumstances?" Hayato smirked.

"Probability is irrelevant to something that has already happened." It seemed Hayato was catching on to what this really was about, but was clearly very confident.

"Alright, but where was this factory?"

"Exactly where the papers say: in a small town called Hamayo in Hokkaido." It was too good and well-rehearsed, and Will realized then that Hayato must know the truth, and know what he is saying is bullshit.

"I checked, in fact, and such a factory never seemed to have existed. Why are you lying to me?" Hayato merely sighed.

"I now Misato's death is tragic, but trust me; it was a tragic accident in a factory. Don't try to make it any more than it is."

"Then what are you covering up?" William demanded, frustrated. Once again Hayato sighed deeply.

"Listen, Misato is dead. Nothing you do will change that. Don't stick your nose into shit that doesn't concern you." Hayato said simply as if it was nothing. William glared at Hayato as the man walked out of Will's house. To say he was pissed at the man's audacity was an understatement. However, he had nothing that he could think of to say that would help.

William Migdal had never been angrier. That bastard dared to lie to his face and then tell him that his best friend's death didn't concern him. Will called up Brian.

"I'm sending you the recording of our little conversation. But I didn't get anything but confirmation that something is being covered up and Hayato knows the truth."

"The question is, what are they covering up for? Business or something more?" Brian pointed out; he still couldn't be sure there is absolutely a link yet.

"Isn't there always something more?" Will cynically chuckled.

"Well, either way, we're sending you to the incident site to check out. Luckily Hokkaido ain't far.

**. . .**

Desolate didn't even begin to describe this place. After cutting the fence and walking a little ways into the incident site, he realized the area was a large underground bunker. A harsh wind blew around ash and dusk, and it was dark as if the sun itself hid from this area.

After some searching, Will finally found the entrance to the bunker. One breaching charge later and Will was in and searching. No lights were working, and thus the only light came from the beam of his flashlight. An eerie silence filled the place. Will found many destroyed computers, but nothing of any use. That is, until he walked into a large cylindrical room with a roof beyond Will's sight. A massive missile stood in the center. Will realized he had entered the service entrance to a missile housing. But by the looks of this, the missile was ready to go at any point. This place was a giant missile silo.

"Jesus Christ," Will whispered to himself.

"What? What's going on?" Brian asked through the earpiece, worried.

"The place's a goddamn missile silo."

"Holy shit! Okay, okay, we can deal with this, but holy shit! You gotta figure out what kind of missiles they are and who owns them."

"All the computers here are destroyed. How do I figure all that out with nothing but the missiles?"

"Get the ROM chip with all the instructions and communications protocols for the missile."

"So you want me to climb up an armed missile, and go on a wild goose chase for ROM chips somewhere on the missile?"

"Put on your video headgear and I'll direct you to the places it could be." Brian seemed rather calm about it at this point by the way he talked, but then again, he didn't have to climb a missile in this plan.

"And how the hell do I get into the plating to get to the chips?" There was silence over the earpiece.

"I hadn't thought of that," Brian finally responded. William facepalmed.

"You are an IDIOT. For Christ's sake, do you even think before you come up with these crazy plans?"

"Ok, new plan; we find the connectors for the missile while it's on standby and hack into it." Will was about to make a retort when he heard footsteps. He turned off the flashlight, pulled out his Five-seveN, and pressed himself against the wall.

"Will? Are you there?" Will pressed the button on his UFS com. system to send a beep over the communication line. One beep is yes, two is no. "Is somebody there?" One beep. Brian fell silent.

Will had a couple of options. He could try to use his authority to "arrest" the man, or he could stay in the shadows. William chose the earlier.

"This is the FBI. Get down on the ground and put your hands on your head." Will announced this as he came out into the entrance of the corridor, Five-seveN drawn and pointed. The man at the other end of the corridor reached for his gun, but Will fired a shot just above his head. The message was clear: move again and the man would have his head blown off.

"Put your hands on your head." The man complied. As Will approached the man, Will started speaking. "Who are you?" Will asked sternly.

"Fuck you!" Was the only reply he got. Will grabbed the gun out of the man's holster, unloaded it, and stripped it down. Tossing the gun, a Glock 19, aside, Will hit the man with the butt of the Five-seveN. The polymer frame lessened the pain a little, but it still hurt like hell.

"Who are you!?" Will yelled this time, menacingly and demandingly.

"I wont tell you anything you bastard!" The man replied quickly. Then, Will heard Brian over the earpiece.

"Will, you are authorized for advanced interrogation," Brian said with distain, as if the words were acid. When dealing with SKV, advanced interrogation basically meant "gloves off, do what you have to do to get the information." Will sighed; he didn't like "advanced interrogation" one bit. Will grabbed the man by his neck and lifted him to his feet.

"Who do you work for?" Will demanded, face inches away from the man's.

"I already said that I won't tell you anything!" Will noticed a CRT computer monitor. He smashed the man's head into the monitor. As the screen shattered, glass shards spilled out violently. Will then brought his knee to the man's stomach quickly, making him double over, falling to the ground. He had surprisingly little cuts, but blood still ran down his face. Will lifted the injured blood-faced man again by his neck.

"Okay, okay, I work for Vesper," the man admitted.

"Not good enough. Why are you –" William was cut off by a gunshot and a sharp pain in his back. Instinct took over as Will let go of the Vesper agent and rolled to cover from the gunshot. He was thankful for the grade "3.5" ballistic vest, also known as the "light SKV vest." That being said, ballistic vest or not, getting shot still hurt like hell. Stopping a supersonic piece of hot lead with your body is simply not fun.

"Will? Are you there? Will? Are you alright!?" Brian began to yell, panicked.

"Yeah, but I'm under attack by two Vesper agents."

"You are authorized to use whatever force you need to, just get the hell outta there alive!" More shots rang out, bouncing around the metal table on its side Will was behind. If the attackers knew William was known as the "pistol sniper" in the FBI for his insane pistol marksmanship, they probably would have run. However, it was too late for them, as Will quickly peaked out of cover and popped two in the head of the man who shot him before going back into cover. The Vesper agent that had been interrogated picked up his comrade's weapon and started firing, before seconds later Will double-tapped him as well.

"Hostiles down. All clear here as far as I can tell," Will reported.

"Alright," Brian acknowledged, "We'll get the SEALs and Special Weapon Disarming squads to take care of this place. So I guess this is a vesper missile silo judging by its inhabitants, huh. I must say, when you told me your "gut" felt something was off about Misato's death, I never thought it would lead us to find a Vesper missile silo. Good work, maybe one of these days you'll get me a promotion."

Will chuckled, saying "I'll be getting that raise first." To this they both laughed, but the back of Brain's mind made him think of how Will had just been forced to kill two humans, and yet he could shake it off so easily. An odd feeling grew in the pit of his stomach, wondering if it was strength or cruelty that it didn't faze him more.


	5. Chapter 5

Will woke up at nine, still tired from his late-night trek. He flinched at remembering the two dead bodies, but he pushed it out of his mind. Will got dressed, grabbed his wallet and badge, put his in-waist holster for his Five-seveN, and went to the door. However, upon going to the door, there was somebody already there.

"Long night?" Suguru's grandfather questioned. William lightly laughed.

"You don't know the half of it." Of course this was true; the old man wouldn't guess Will had been in a firefight.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'll be leaving today."

"He would be better off with you, you know." This made the grandfather sigh.

"I trust Suguru in your hands. I can't take care of him, and Misato trusted you."

"Well then, I suppose I should get going over," Will said while stretching. They both walked the minute in silence, neither having much more to say to the other. Upon walking in, they sat next to Suguru.

"Umm, Mr. Migdal…" Suguru started, fumbling over the name.

"Please, call me Will."  
>"Okay, Will… I was wondering, you seem vaguely familiar. Have I met you before?" Suguru asked, still somewhat hesitant.<p>

"Yes, but the last time I came here to Japan was when your mother died."

"Umm… How did you and my dad meet?"

"Ah, well for college I went to an English-speaking school for foreigners here in Japan. Outside of school grounds, I met your father and we got talking. I helped him with English, and he helped me with Japanese. It was hard because of the language difference, but we slowly became friends." Suguru grew silent.

"What happens now?" He asked, clearly scared of the future without any parents.

"Well, you said that you wish to live on your own, so you shall stay in this house by yourself. I will stay in a house just down the street, so you can come to see me anytime. I will also handle all the finances. I'll give you an atm card, so just be smart on how you spend your money. Beyond that, life goes on. It'll be hard, but I'm sure your friends will help you and you can always talk to me anytime. Your classes start back up in a week, so right now you should just take this time to recover."

**. . .**

William stayed at the Misato residence that whole day, including after Suguru's grandfather left in the afternoon. In the evening, Will cooked dinner. It was American, of course, so it was difference than Suguru had eaten before.

At 8:30, Will figured he should put Suguru to bed. The problem was, he had no clue how. Will figured it couldn't be that hard; just tell Suguru to change into PJ's, make his bed, and tuck him. Luckily for him, this worked. That is, until he said good night and went to leave.

"No, wait!" Will turned, surprised. "I, I'm scared," Suguru said quietly. Will was about to speak, but Suguru continued. "W-what if something happens? What if somebody breaks in?"

Will was momentarily fazed by this, but quickly regained his composure and said, "Suguru, I have alarm systems set up to notify me if something happens. You don't have to worry."

"But what if something happens to you then?" Will saw more than selfless worry in Suguru's eyes, so reflective of Misato's. Will saw fear, an inability to loose anyone else. Will gave a soft smile.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine, and always there for you okay?" It was a lie, a damned lie that left a bad taste in his mouth. He was one of the riskiest FBI agents. Chances are Will wouldn't be around for long. SKV work wasn't for family men, that's for damn sure. And Suguru seemed unsatisfied, but nodded slightly, and Will patted his head in an attempt to comfort him. As Will walked out of the room, he hoped he had put Suguru's unnecessary doubts to rest. But unnecessary doesn't always mean unfounded.

**. . .**

William awoke to the cell phone ringing and the pitter-patter of its vibrations on the desk. The sun had risen just barely over the horizon. Will begrudgingly picked up the electric device.

"Hello?" Will said, slightly irritated.

"Hey. I have quite a few things to report. First off, we got your car to Japan, it'll be dropped off at your house today." William's car was a nice sleek two-door that doubled as both his normal car and one for response to FBI situations. It has bullet-resistant windows and doors, a pop-up siren and lights in the roof, and a powerful engine with a manual transmission.

"Halya-fuck'n-lyua. Let me guess: the other thing to report is about the missile silo." It had been a full week since Will had investigated the silo, and he had yet to hear much about it.

"You would be correct; the SEAL's cleared out the place with no resistance, and the special weapons squads disarmed the missiles. We're examining them now, but there isn't much else of use there. Any hard drives and completely and utterly destroyed, though I doubt they forgot to override the data first. With no useful info, it could be a while before we get a new lead after this; but I assure you, we'll find a new wild goose chase for ya soon enough." Will chuckled.

"Fantastic. Anything else I should know?"

"Law enforcement in the area have been notified that an advanced FBI agent is in the area on standby. They will be able to get in contact with you if they need help."

"Heh, just like at home, huh? Even when SKV's slow, not that it ever is, there's still always somebody who needs help. But hey, at least its work for which I actually joined the feds in the first place." Brian chuckled in response.

"Hey, you chose to be the best of the best, and you let yourself get dragged into this SKV bullshit."

"It was that or the HRT's," Will replied. (HRT is the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team. They are a national high-level SWAT team that are employed full-time and train daily. They can be deployed across the country but also have been involved in Afghanistan and Iraq.)

"_Or_ you could have just stayed where you were," Brian said mater-of-factly. To this Will sighed.

"I don't believe in not moving up and forward, and the HRT wasn't for me."

"Why not?" Brian seemed genuinely interested.

"I dunno, it just wasn't. Maybe it's the never-ending training. Maybe it's cuz you rarely go into the field and actually make a goddamned difference. Maybe it's just cuz the only casualties has been in training rather than in the actual line of duty. I guess I just think that I should be out here doing shit, not spending my whole life training in case I get the opportunity to do something." Will seemed very detached as he said this. "But either way, I chose to join SKV. In all fairness, I had no idea what the hell I was getting myself into."

"Must have seemed great at first. Fighting alien invaders for the good of humanity, Men in Black shit."

"We're the Federal Bureau of Investigation, not some super black-ops squad! Sure, I fight the occasional Kaisma or Vesper, maybe even a Saintling, but I do more investigation than actual combat." Whist chuckling, Brian said,

"There's a reason why they chose you for SKV investigation, pistol-sniper." Will laughed heartily.

"To think they still call me that after all these years. Besides, they just wanted their main investigator to a: be able to respond to and handle SKV situations, and b: to not die when shit hits the fan."

"Still, I remember when I was first told I was going to be field support for you. Normally I would have minded, worried my brilliance would go to waste on just plain support," Will chuckled and muttered a sarcastic _of course_, "but you were like a celebrity, a real-life Hollywood hero. Still are…" Brian trailed off.

"What do you mean?" Will questioned.

"With the recent increase in SKV activity and you leaving, they got three more SKV investigators from the Bureau. Apparently one of them accepted the job when they heard you were the first one to be in the position in the FBI." Lightheartedly, Will exclaimed,

"Oh for Christ's sakes! Don't get me wrong, I'm a damn good shot with a pistol, but it was a lucky shot! The media just acted like it wasn't for publicity."

"35 yards is still a hell of a ways for a lucky shot on a running man with a pistol. Anyway, the police want to meet you in one hour," Brian said, getting back to business.

"Alright, I'll be there. Anything else I should know about this meeting?" Will knew Brian had a habit of not telling Will everything, or as Brian put it, what Will "didn't need to know." Brian nervously chuckled.

"Well, the director wanted to score some political points by making it look like we were sending great help to Japan's law enforcement…"

"Aw hell, just spill it!" Will said irritatedly as he groaned.

"Well, um, it _might_ have been mentioned that you are highly trained with special weapons, and it _might_ have been noted that you were recommended for the HRT. So there's a _chance _the SWAT's will be there to talk with you as well."

"You have got to be shitting me," was Will's only reply.

"I shit you not." Was Brian's simple response. Will groaned even louder.

"Why does he do this to me? I swear one of these days I'm gonna kill the old bastard." Will mumbled, very pissed off.

"Well, you have been great in FBI squads the occasional times you've been in an all-out raid," Brian noted

"In leading squads! We both know when shit hits the fan in combat, I don't take orders. I cant believe they thought they could be that out of me in the HRT."

"Or maybe they though you could rise up quickly to a commanding role," Brian suggested.

"Heh, maybe. But I still cant stand the thought of training all day every day, only to see combat a few times."

"Ya know, most people would be happy to _never_ see combat." Brian said I a slightly condescending tone.

"If I'm not in the field fighting, I'm not doing something that matters." At this, Brian chuckled darkly.

"Maybe Suguru will change your mind." Will was caught off guard at what Brian said.

"I –" Will started but didn't know what to say.

"I know, I know. You've never had a wife you hold dear or a kid you brought into this world. But now you have somebody to live_ for_. Don't forget that." Will knew what Brian meant. Suicide missions were something he had been known to do before, biting off more than he could chew when it came to the FBI. He had nothing to live for, everything to die for. That's how he saw it, anyway. But if will died, Suguru would be all alone. Again. But the scariest part was that with the way Will faced his duties, it was not _if_. It was _when_. Suguru's scared face from the other night came to mind.

"Th-that," Will tried to find the right words. "This, this is SKV work. Millions of lives are on the line in the shit we do. Even if I'm living for two, millions of lives outweighs the needs of two." Will argued this even though he wasn't sure himself anymore. At this, Brian started to become angry.

"It must be real goddamn nice to live in a world where numbers can dictate everything! Human lives aren't statistics! If I died tomorrow, do you think my son would just say, 'well, it was only one in eight billion. Minor casualties, nothing to cry over.' Is that what you think?! Or would that just be what you would say?!" Brian yelled. William couldn't respond, he didn't know how to respond. He was inclined to disagree, say "it may not be right, but it's how the world works." But William knew, deep down, that Brian was right. Even if he was too proud to admit it, even to himself.

"I- I-" Brian started after a long silence. "I'm sorry. With the silo, and now Vesper seems to be on the move, I'm just tired."

"Don't… Don't worry about it," Will said quietly. He didn't know what else to say. He said his goodbyes to Brian and hung up. Solemnly, Will got dressed, holstered the Five-seveN, and began to walk out. Part-way, however, he pulled out his wallet and looked at the empty photo holder in it. He never thought much about it, never had a wife or kid to put in it. Now he noticed how desolate it seemed. William put it away and tried to shake it off.


End file.
